Is "Banner in the Sky" a book worth reading?

[SoCal Sandra]

Comments? Is there anything in the book that parents should have a heads up on? TIA.

[Trish]

No. It was a required read for my son a couple years ago. There are a lot of dull parts. One exciting part. Rudy contemplates whether he should go up the mountain. Rudy decides whether he should lie. Rudy thinks about what he's just done. The mountain is cold. Etc.

 

I remember seeing the movie as a kid. THAT was exciting. To me at the time. I'm not going to make DS #2 do Banner in the Sky.

 

YMMV.

[SoCal Sandra]

Unfortunately I signed dss up for a summer speed reading class because I had been told over the phone that the class would read "Fellowship of the Rings." Today I visited the website of the company that gives the class and saw "Banner in the Sky" listed as the novel the class will read. Dss love LOTR and will be sorely disappointed.

 

Well, unless I can undo this and find a replacement speed reading class, I will have to console my self with the fact that if "Banner in the Sky" is boring, maybe dss will desire to speed through it to get it over with.

 

Thanks for your response, Trish.

[Matryoshka]

Unfortunately I signed dss up for a summer speed reading class because I had been told over the phone that the class would read "Fellowship of the Rings." Today I visited the website of the company that gives the class and saw "Banner in the Sky" listed as the novel the class will read. Dss love LOTR and will be sorely disappointed.

 

Well, unless I can undo this and find a replacement speed reading class, I will have to console my self with the fact that if "Banner in the Sky" is boring, maybe dss will desire to speed through it to get it over with.

 

Thanks for your response, Trish.

 

Okay - I think I've signed my kids up for the exact same class (except in a different city, I'd guess). Did you also sign up for the 6th-8th graders? They read Banner in the Sky (or the other two books listed are Harry Potter and Secret Garden). The 9th-11th graders read Fellowship of the Rings (or Pride & Prejudice or Watership Down). Ugh. My kids would love to read those books, but the others seem very young.

 

I've been thinking of either finding out if they can switch to a 9th-11th grade class or cancelling. Looking at their website and the kids giving rave reviews, there does seem to be a theme of "I didn't like to read until this class..." - my kids already love to read. I was looking for the study and note-taking skills, and yes, perhaps increased speed because I've got a lot for them to read next year, but they're going to be miffed if they're reading Banner in the Sky with a bunch of kids who are just discovering that books can be fun. :glare:

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Well, my son read Banner in the Sky when he was in seventh grade and it was one of his favorite books ever. I enjoyed it, myself. Why not let your son read the first few chapters and see if it grabs his interest before dismissing it as awful?

[Virg]

I loved that book as a child! I think it depends on the person. I haven't reread it as an adult to see if it is "quality" literature so I can't give any advice on that part.

[HejKatt]

Funny enough, I just finished reading it today. :)

 

I found the book's strength in its description of the risks in mountaineering. Now, I'm a couch potato so it might have been informative for me than it will be for your dc, but I did come away with an increased respect and understanding for mountaineers.

 

Character development was middling. The adults act like children in a couple of chapters, and come across as flat. Rudi is single-minded too although there is an exception toward the end. There are some nice instances of noble behavior and maturity sprinkled throughout.

 

Speaking of Rudi's single-mindedness, I had one qualm which I would discuss with my dc if they read the book. It was how he would try and get away whenever possible, to the point of lying and breaking promises. The author presented it as a conflict between nature (Rudi's heritage for the sport) and an overly protective family. The author made it seem almost inevitable that Rudi's nature would win, but I would certainly want to talk about how to better handle an equivalent situation IRL.

 

Oh yes, another qualm if you are Christian. In one section, Rudi prays for help, but there's a section where he's thinking about his father (who died 15 years earlier), and a section of the Lord's prayer is spliced in so it seems the earthly and heavenly fathers are mixed up. That came across as confused thinking.

 

I'm on the fence, myself, in regards to keeping the book. I enjoyed parts of the book, it was great when talking about nature and OK/confused when handling the people. But I do agree with the PP about letting your dc preview it.

[mjbucks1]

My children and I read this book a little over a year ago, and this was one of our favorite books! We rented the movie from the library, and while we liked it, we thought the book was better. I would give it a try. If after a few chapters you don't like it you can drop it. There were many good "talking points" in this book, but no questionable content that I can remember.

[MerryAtHope]

DS really enjoyed it. DD said it was pretty good but not one of her favorites.

 

Merry :-)

[Daisy]

Great book and wonderful movie.

 

The movie is called Third Man on the Mountain and stars James MacArthur.

 

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Third-Man-on-the-Mountain/70001760?trkid=1481020#height1898

[SoCal Sandra]

Okay - I think I've signed my kids up for the exact same class (except in a different city, I'd guess). Did you also sign up for the 6th-8th graders? They read Banner in the Sky (or the other two books listed are Harry Potter and Secret Garden). The 9th-11th graders read Fellowship of the Rings (or Pride & Prejudice or Watership Down). Ugh. My kids would love to read those books, but the others seem very young.

 

I've been thinking of either finding out if they can switch to a 9th-11th grade class or cancelling. Looking at their website and the kids giving rave reviews, there does seem to be a theme of "I didn't like to read until this class..." - my kids already love to read. I was looking for the study and note-taking skills, and yes, perhaps increased speed because I've got a lot for them to read next year, but they're going to be miffed if they're reading Banner in the Sky with a bunch of kids who are just discovering that books can be fun. :glare:

 

It sounds like the same program (Institute for Reading Development) and yes, dss will be in the 6th-8th class. Evidently the person I spoke with gave me the name of the book used in the 9th-12th class by mistake.The person I spoke with was aware that my dss are strong readers and are looking to increase speed. He told me that the program would benefit them. It is supposed to strengthen all students, even advanced ones, by assessing each student on the first day and then monitoring each student's individual progress.

 

Funny enough, I just finished reading it today. :)

 

I found the book's strength in its description of the risks in mountaineering. Now, I'm a couch potato so it might have been informative for me than it will be for your dc, but I did come away with an increased respect and understanding for mountaineers.

 

Character development was middling. The adults act like children in a couple of chapters, and come across as flat. Rudi is single-minded too although there is an exception toward the end. There are some nice instances of noble behavior and maturity sprinkled throughout.

 

Speaking of Rudi's single-mindedness, I had one qualm which I would discuss with my dc if they read the book. It was how he would try and get away whenever possible, to the point of lying and breaking promises. The author presented it as a conflict between nature (Rudi's heritage for the sport) and an overly protective family. The author made it seem almost inevitable that Rudi's nature would win, but I would certainly want to talk about how to better handle an equivalent situation IRL.

 

Oh yes, another qualm if you are Christian. In one section, Rudi prays for help, but there's a section where he's thinking about his father (who died 15 years earlier), and a section of the Lord's prayer is spliced in so it seems the earthly and heavenly fathers are mixed up. That came across as confused thinking.

 

I'm on the fence, myself, in regards to keeping the book. I enjoyed parts of the book, it was great when talking about nature and OK/confused when handling the people. But I do agree with the PP about letting your dc preview it.

 

Thanks for the heads up on these issues. We will definitely discuss these things with dss if they read the book.

[Matryoshka]

It sounds like the same program (Institute for Reading Development) and yes, dss will be in the 6th-8th class. Evidently the person I spoke with gave me the name of the book used in the 9th-12th class by mistake.The person I spoke with was aware that my dss are strong readers and are looking to increase speed. He told me that the program would benefit them. It is supposed to strengthen all students, even advanced ones, by assessing each student on the first day and then monitoring each student's individual progress.

 

Well, FYI, I just called and upped them to the 9th-12th grade class. They are both entering 8th grade, so it's only one grade off. It worried me that in the videos on the website, virtually every kid was saying 'oh, I never read a book before this' or 'I never liked reading before'. The person on the phone said it was no problem to move them up and didn't think it was a bad idea at all. It might have been different if they were younger.

 

Besides, now they are reading the Fellowship of the Ring, and we're doing LLfLOTR in the fall, so yay, headstart! We just read the Hobbit with LL8 this spring.